Last update: 24 July 2006
*Have you ever wondered about how the collective body of peer-reviewed published science relates to the needs and issues of a specific region? At BSI we are very interested in closing the gap between science, decision-making, and regional ecosystems, most specifically Greater Yellowstone.
As an initial step, BSI has put together a database of the top science papers published about Yellowstone. In order to have an objective measure for identifying key papers, we assigned ranks according to the number of times each has been cited in other professional papers according to the **ISI Web Of Knowledge Science Citation Index. This commonly used method provides an impartial indication of each paper's scholarly significance to date. Secondly, we have additionally characterized these papers by thematic categories (see links below).
A logical next step is to investigate key Yellowstone issues and assess how well science, through published content, has addressed them. BSI will take this next step, as well as continue to work with diverse participants to better link research priorities with the pressing needs of decision-makers, managers, and local communities.
To access these ranked listings of science papers, select a thematic topic below. Currently you will then find a list of citations and after each, the number of the times it has been cited, according to the ISI Web of Knowledge. The list proceeds from the most to least cited.
Sadly, we cannot provide links to digital versions of all of these papers, although that is a capability we would like to provide in the future. The primary obstacle is that most of these papers, if available digitally, are only available through a paid subscription service.
* Note: This project is a work in progress. We encourage you to view these interpretations with a skeptical eye. How does one measure the significance of a science publication? Number of citations is an objective but imperfect measure of significance. Year of publication can influence the number of times a paper is cited, giving older papers a potential advantage. Additionally scholarly significance, as measured by number of citations, may not correlate to applied significance, especially in a regional context. Are there papers missing from our lists? Our first cut at thematic categories is far from perfect, and the process of selecting a category for a specific paper is often challenging given the interdisciplinary character of many of these papers. We would appreciate your feedback.
** The ISI Web of Knowledge can be accessed at http://www.isiwebofknowledge.com/.
